• custom hardwood floor installation,  Flooring Trends of 2017,  Hardwood Flooring,  How to Choose the Right Floor

    Wide-Plank Hardwood Flooring

    Wide Plank hardwood flooring exudes elegance.  Where wide planked flooring is installed, it’s often one of the first things a person notices when walking into a room; it very easily acts as a focal point.  It’s hard not to miss such a beautiful floor when it spans the course of an entire room.  But more so than the adoring cosmetic quality, wide plank hardwood bears a craftmanship appeal to it as well.  Wide plank flooring isn’t as common as the standard strip flooring, here in the northeast United States.  When a wide plank hardwood floor is installed in a home or business, you can be sure that a certain level…

  • Water pop hardwood
    Sanding and Refinishing hardwood floors

    “Water-popping-What it is, and why it should be considered.”

    We found that water popping hardwood is a technique that many flooring companies and finishers simply don’t use when finishing hardwood floors.  It’s one of the reasons why we stand out from the rest.  We don’t consider water-popping to be an “additional step,” we consider it a “necessary” one, when staining is involved. Staining and finishing any type of hardwood is a process that requires a lot of TLC, to say the least.  Our experts take great care when performing each and every step of the finishing process.  From the first pass of our sanding equipment, to the final coat of poly, our wood floor finishers focus on every last…

  • Exotic Species Hardwood Flooring

    American Cherry Hardwood vs Brazilian Cherry Hardwood

    While most homeowners have probably heard of “cherry hardwood flooring,” what they may not know is that there are two main species to choose from, and the thing they have in common the most is their name. With two wood species, named “Cherry;” You may be wondering, “How different can they be?”  The answer: Completely. Genus, Species and Name We’ll start with their names – Our first species is the domestic “American Cherry,” also known as “Black cherry, “its scientific name is “Prunus serotine.”    The second cherry wood is the exotic species “Brazilian cherry,” also known as “Jatoba,” whose scientific name is “Hymenaea courbaril.”  Even though they are both named…

  • Hardwood Flooring

    Keep your hardwood floors looking like new during this Holiday Season

    The holidays are upon us, and as we bustle around the house hanging festive decorations and preparing for holiday guests, it’s easy to forget about one of your homes main focal points; the flooring.   While your holiday décor may look spectacular, neglecting your floors can put a big damper on your homes overall appearance.  Knowing that you’re going to want to impress your holiday guests, taking into consideration the humidity levels in your home will help maintain the tight spacing in your hardwood floors. With the winter weather being in full effect here in the Northeast, that means a warm and cozy but extremely DRY climate in your home.  The…

  • Hardwood Flooring

    Tips for keeping your floors looking great for during and after your Thanksgiving feast

    Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and with all the preparations for the big feast, who has time to think about their floors? Here at The Couture Floor Company, we want to offer the best advice and recommendations possible, to ensure your beautiful floors continue looking great throughout the Holiday Season. Here are some useful tips to consider –    Remove your shoes Tip # 1: Have your Thanksgiving Guests take off their shoes- If you’re like so many of us who have hardwood floors, you’ll know that shoes can drag in all kinds of dirt, debris and even added moisture that can damage your floors. So taking off your…

  • Water Damage

    Post-Flood Improper Drying: What Risks Your Home is Facing

    Flooding can be a scary result from many different circumstances.   Although with this years catastrophic Hurricane Season that has caused countless homes to be subjected to incredibly high flood-waters, there are things in every home that can cause flooding as well. Just think of all the possible aspects of a home that are capable of causing flooding or some kind of water-damage, it may be something as small as nails in your roof that weren’t sealed, slowly leaking for years and years…. with nowhere for the water to go, your homes’ interior structure will soak it all up.  It may sound harmless, but eventually, the damage will be visible…

  • Water Damage

    Floor Damage after a Hurricane or Flood

    Our previous post touched on Flood Damage, Mold and the Rebuilding of Your Home. In this post, we’re discussing FLOOR-DAMAGE after a hurricane/and or flood and how different flooring materials hold-up to such circumstances.  We’ll also discuss why it is so important to take the right steps in remedying any damage that may have occurred. Water Damage to Plywood Subfloor With the passing and destruction of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma and with a couple of new Hurricanes making their way to landfall, the inevitable threat of sitting flood water has never been more real.  Unfortunately, the chances of severe damage to the flooring in your home are high if you…

  • Exotic Species Hardwood Flooring

    Cocobolo, King Rosewood

    JANKA HARDNESS – 2960 ORIGIN – Central America, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua COMMON NAMES – Cocobolo, King Rosewood, SCIENTIFIC NAME  – Dalbergia retusa Whether installing a wood floor in a residential or commercial setting, exotic woods add a sense of class and luxury as well as structural durability. There are many different species of hardwood that are classified as a “Rosewood.”  They’re all known for their defining beautiful colors and notable figured graining, but Cocobolo wood is deemed the best and most unique and sought-after of all the Rosewoods.  It’s a bit more rare than some other Rosewood species and is treated and thought of as a “rare gem.”…

  • Exotic Species Hardwood Flooring

    Tiete Rosewood

    Common names- Bolivian Rosewood, Patagonian Cherry, Sirari Scientific name- Guibourtia hymenaeifolia (syn. G. chodatiana) Origin – South America, Venezuela, Brazil, French Guyana Janka – 2790 – 3280 There are many different hardwood species that are classified as “Rosewoods,” and similar to a rose flower, they each hold their own special and unique beauty.   Tiete Rosewood is not actually a true Rosewood, which are from the “Dalbergia” genus.  It’s named as a Rosewood, typically for its color, having a pinkish-brown hue and turning into a deeper red with age. Appearance – Tiete Rosewood flooring in a clear grade has a clean and clear appearance and overall color tone.  There isn’t a…

  • Exotic Species Hardwood Flooring

    African Danta

    Scientific Name – Nesogordonia papaverifera AKA – “Kotibe” Origin – West Africa Janka – 2100   Installing an exotic hardwood floor is a sure way to set your home apart from the rest.  Exotic wood species are sought after because of their bold and vibrant natural colors and unfamiliar graining.  Not only are many exotic wood species aesthetically remarkable, but many are structurally superior to traditional domestic hardwoods that are found here in the U.S.  So, if you’re considering hardwood flooring for your home, choosing a custom exotic hardwood floor won’t only get your home noticed, but will give your home added stability and floors that will last. There are…